Zimbabwe report says education can cut domestic abuse

UN-backed survey reveals women who have received more education are less likely to be victims of gender-based violence

By Wallace Mawire

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AA) – A new report released on Saturday in Zimbabwe has called for an improvement in education as a way to control spiraling gender-based violence (GBV) cases.

The Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) 2015 was produced by the country’s National Statistical Agency in collaboration with the Ministry of Health plus support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Cheikh Tidiane Cisse, UNFPA Country Representative in Zimbabwe, said the research showed that more than one-in-three women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15.

The 2015 survey also revealed an increase in the percentage of women who reported having experienced violence in their lifetime, up from 29.9 percent in 2010 to 34.8 percent in 2015.

Researchers say that the most commonly reported perpetrator is the current or former husband or partner.

“However, on a positive note, findings have shown that the percentage of women who experienced violence in the last 12 months has decreased from 18.4 percent in 2010 to 14.5 percent in 2015,” Cisse said.

Cisse added that a key finding was that women with secondary-level education experienced less violence when compared to those with just a primary-school-level education.

The ZDHS findings will be used to inform health organizations in their work in various sectors such as maternal and child health, family planning and HIV/AIDS.